Legendary filmmaker and journalist John Pilger and Christine Assange, mother of Julian Assange, spoke to Dennis J. Bernstein and Randy Credico on April 5, about the latest attempt to silence the Wikileaks founder.
By Dennis J Bernstein and Randy Credico
After 
nearly six years in exile holed up inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in the heart of London, Wikileaks founder and publishing visionary Julian Assange has suffered another body blow; Assange, who has been absolved of all accusations, has now been rendered incommunicado inside the tiny embassy in the Knightsbridge section of London.
This latest attack on Assange, this shut down of crucial communication devices, obviously challenges Wikileaks publishing activities and undermines the crucial work of this incredibly important global news and publishing service.
Meanwhile, the US and UK governments continue their drumbeat demonization of Assange, who has become part of their Russiagate frenzy towards a new Cold War and maybe World War III. Indeed, the US and UK continue to threaten him. In the US, some senators and the current CIA director [Mike Pompeo], about to become Secretary of State, want to see Assange tried for treason and put to a public death. They threaten to arrest Assange in violation of two UN rulings and their own laws, as soon as he walks out of the embassy.
Change.org said in a statement they released, as a part of a petition in support of Assange, “It is with great concern that we learned that Julian Assange has lost access to the internet and the right to receive visitors at the Ecuadorian London Embassy. Only extraordinary pressure from the US and the Spanish governments can explain why Ecuador’s authorities should have taken such appalling steps in isolating Julian. We demand that Julian Assange’s isolation ends NOW!”
In the following interviews with noted journalist and filmmaker John Pilger and Christine Assange, mother of the WikiLeaks founder, we attempt to shed some light on the crucial case of Julian Assange and why he should finally be freed from further prosecution so that he can continue unfettered the great work WikiLeaks has done as one of the most significant publishers of government whistleblowers in modern history.
Dennis Bernstein: Well, there have been some changes at the [Ecuadorian] embassy. They have cut off Julian’s Internet, effectively his lifeline. He has been living in that small room for so many years, and now they are trying to make it a little smaller. Could you give us your best understanding of what is going on now? Have you spoken to him?
John Pilger: No, I haven’t spoken to Julian. It’s not possible. They have done more than cut off the Internet, they have cut off the phone. Ecuadorian authorities have placed a blocker on all communications at the embassy. Perhaps worst of all, he is denied visitors. I know that his lawyers are meeting today and there is possibly a meeting with the Ecuadorians. Beyond that, I don’t know anything.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. (Photo credit: Espen Moe)
You can appreciate the effect of these measures on someone who has been effectively imprisoned in a very small space without sunlight for going on six years now. This is tragic and it is coming from a small country that recognized the justice in the Assange case and gave him political asylum.
While I am not excusing this government’s actions, we must recognize that it is under direct pressure from the United States, which is rolling back so many of the so-called progressive governments in Latin America. They cut off the communications for Julian just a day after Ecuador welcomed a delegation from the US Southern Command, the Pentagon’s arm in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The government in Ecuador has tried almost everything to bring justice to Julian. It has tried to negotiate with the British government, it has called on the British government to give Julian free passage out of the embassy. He is not even given right of passage to a hospital.
There is a particular cruelty being imposed on Julian Assange because he is the embodiment of dissent which is missing across the political spectrum in Western countries. He has become the enemy to governments in the West.
Taking away his right to communicate is an attack on freedom of speech. It is an attack on our rights as well as his. I have never met anyone as defiantly courageous as Julian. Not at all courageous are the so-called opposition, who are silent.
DB: Assange is a very special kind of publisher who has an impact on history and the way we are going to remember it. But there is a cynical chorus of corporate journalists who scoff at truth tellers. It is almost out of style to tell the truth, to do your job of reporting.
JP: That’s quite correct. I have been a journalist for a long time and I always regarded journalism as involving a certain duty to find a way of telling the truth. Finding the facts out and giving them to the public. This was long before people were called investigative journalists, because all journalism should be investigative, with the object of finding out the truth.
Julian Assange is being mistreated in this way because he is doing what a true journalist should do. He is finding the truth about those who seek to manipulate and control our lives, and by telling that truth, calling them to account. For that, he is being subjected to a form of torture. Being denied all contact is a form of torture. Julian needs our support more urgently than ever.
Pilger: “A massive provocation of Russia.” (Wikipedia)
Randy Credico: Between us, we have done twenty programs on Julian Assange. John, you kicked it off April 1 of last year. I was so optimistic then that he would be out of this jam. A few months later Sweden dropped these bogus charges against him. Where do you see things going from here?
JP: What is happening to Julian is part of a very aggressive campaign against democracy, against dissent. At the moment, that campaign is at a critical stage.
We are witnessing a massive provocation of Russia. We have the biggest military build-up since World War II on the western borders of Russia. At the same time we have the biggest military build-up since World War II in the Pacific. The issue here is that the dominance of the United States is being challenged. That is intolerable.
That campaign to provoke the two powers of Russia and China is reaching a kind of critical mass. It is very dangerous. There is a great deal of talk about a trade war. What we should be talking about is the prospect of a shooting war. Provocations of Russia now are so extreme.
This Skripal episode in Britain has been exposed in the last couple days as a series of fabrications. Laboratory results have pulled the rug out from under the entire British security establishment in saying there is no verifiable evidence that Russia is the cause of this attack. The whole thing is an appalling fabrication. But why?
It is part of an almost inexorable campaign to reach a point with Russia where they have to respond militarily. Wars begin in this way. I think that it is more dangerous now than at any time during the first Cold War.
What we are seeing is the latest in a long campaign against WikiLeaks that seeks to criminalize journalism. A document which WikiLeaks published from 2008 made it clear that an organization within the Pentagon laid down what the plan would be as far as WikiLeaks was concerned. The strategy was to destroy trust in WikiLeaks and destroy its editor. That was the plan ten years ago and that plan is basically being carried out.
This document makes very clear that the threat was truth. WikiLeaks emerged five years after the invasion of Iraq, which was started when governments lied about weapons of mass destruction. That was the justification for the invasion of Iraq, which killed about a million people and caused the flight of some four million others from the country.
This poisoning case in Salisbury appears to be a lie of a similar nature. But we’re not talking about a war this time with a Middle Eastern country. We are talking about a war with the second most powerful nuclear-armed state.
DB: Is this another Gulf of Tonkin incident?
JP: The Gulf of Tonkin sounds pretty mild compared with some of the fabrications that have led to wars since then. I am afraid that this will serve as justification not for an invasion but for a kind of war of constant intimidation.
But as Putin has made clear, the Russians have no intention of accepting this. All of this borders on collective insanity. This can only end in the most horrific war that would devastate both sides, particularly exposed countries like Great Britain. Those who stand against all of this have to be swept aside, the most prominent being Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
When you think back to 2016 and the leaked emails of John Podesta that revealed the direct connection between the Clinton Foundation and organized jihadism in the Middle East, that revelation tells more about the machinations of great power than anything else that has been published in years.
The same was true of the WikiLeaks revelations of collateral murder that Chelsea Manning leaked. The power of that single video informed people all over the world of how wars are conducted by their own governments. It changed or reinforced the perceptions of millions of people. A war has been declared on that kind of journalism.
RC: You can see that clip in John Pilger’s classic documentary The War You Don’t See.
JP: That film, which I made in 2013, was basically interviews with quite distinguished mainstream journalists on both sides of the Atlantic. Their collective message was that, had the media not colluded with governments in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, had they not amplified and echoed the deceptions and lies of governments, there is a great possibility that that war would never have happened, all those people would be alive today, ISIS would not exist today and there might even be the beginnings of some kind of hope in the Middle East.
We shouldn’t forget this when we are thinking about the present situation, as Western governments provoke Russia and China. We have 400 military bases ringing China but you hear almost nothing of these in the press. Russia is in effect encircled. Unless people learn of these incredibly important truths, nothing will be done.
DB: This is exactly where we need the sort of structural reporting that Julian Assange does. And this is exactly why they want him out of the way.
Christine Assange
This interview with Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, was part of an original WBAI Radio series produced by Randy Credico’s Live on the Fly. Flashpoints on Pacifica Radio has joined forces with Live on the Fly, to continue the work and the fight to free our brother journalist, information freedom fighter, Julian Assange.
The interview with Christine Assange by Credico and Bernstein was broadcast over Pacifica National Radio on April 5th.
Dennis Bernstein: Randy and I were hoping that this would be the occasion where we would be celebrating and have Julian on the other line. Unfortunately, that is not happening. Meanwhile, could you bring us up to speed on how things stand?
Christine Assange: John Pilger mentioned that we are at a rather critical stage with Russia, because of the apparent propaganda around this [Sergei Skripal] poisoning in the UK. It has been found not to be conclusively related to Russia.
Moreno: Under pressure from the U.S. (Official Ecuador Government Photo)
I would say that we are also at a critical stage regarding Julian’s safety and freedom. The two situations are related. For example, the day before Julian’s communications with the outside world were cut off, one of the members in the UK parliament asked, “Isn’t it about time we took some action against the Ecuadorian embassy?” He wasn’t happy about Julian tweeting about the government response to the attack in Salisbury.
Julian’s doubts have since proven justified, with the lab in Porton Down now stating categorically that there is no evidence to connect Russia with the attack. At the same time, Julian was invited to give evidence on Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, so there were also these powerful interests interested in keeping him quiet.
Meanwhile, the US military was moving into Ecuador with plans to increase the pressure to hand Julian over to the US. We know this because it has been revealed by former ambassador Craig Murray that the US spent some $87 million to bring down the presidency of Rafael Correa, who gave Julian political asylum from US threats against his life and liberty.
Now there is pressure on the new president [Lenín Moreno]. By April of 2017, the US was firmly in the position of wanting to go after Julian. They were all on board. [Mike] Pompeo, who has now been promoted to Secretary of State, wants to arrest Julian once and for all. John Bolton has just been appointed National Security Advisor and has suggested that the US government should wage a cyber war against WikiLeaks for revealing Clinton emails and the CIA hacking scandal. In 2010, Trump commented that those responsible for the WikiLeaks exposés should get the death penalty.
DB: It is no surprise that every move would be made to shut down Julian Assange in the context of this Salisbury scandal. The Clinton machine has been fanning this Russiagate flame all along and now they appear willing to risk World War III to prove that Hillary didn’t lose the campaign because she was a horrifying candidate.
CA: Julian was also reporting honestly on what was going on in Catalonia [Spain], which was absolutely disgraceful. You don’t have to support either side to be against the brutal crackdown against democratic rights. The reason Ecuador gave for cutting all of Julian’s communications was a single tweet about the elected president of Catalonia who has now been imprisoned. The response of the Spanish government can only be described as fascist and everyone who supports democracy should be standing up in opposition.
Randy Credico: In part because of a courageous tweet by Julian, Germans have now released [former President of Catalonia Carles] Puigdemont and they will not expedite him to Spain. I believe a number of factors have come together to account for this latest persecution of Julian. First, his reporting on Catalonia, then his questioning of the Salisbury rush to judgment and finally this attack in parliament. Within days, they had cut him off.
CA: Power aligns. The struggle for freedom throughout the world and throughout time has been the struggle against corrupt power. We are at a point now where we really need people power.
I like the Orwell quote, that if there is any hope, it lies in the proles. Throughout history, it generally has not been the leaders who have ensured our rights. It has been the people who have stood up and demanded that their leaders act in their interests. We are at a pivotal point in history where, as John [Pilger] said, we are facing a possible global war and at the same time a war on journalism.
Three petitions have now been sent to the president of Ecuador, one from a group of former US intelligence officers supporting Julian, one from a group of world thinkers, and one from the Landless Workers Movement in Brazil. It is also important to get involved in actions, such as the internet vigil “Reconnect Julian,” where truthful journalist worldwide and ordinary people have joined together to pressure the US not to lean on Ecuador to silence Julian.
RC: The last time you were on, Christine, you said that “we need WikiLeaks warriors, not Wikileaks worriers.”
CA: We are working to build a global network to allow people to quickly access planned actions. We have up one Twitter handle, “Assange Actions,” the “Reconnect Julian” hashtag and the “Unify for JA” hashtag. We also need to take it to the streets because that is where change starts. A good example is the historic vigil outside the Ecuadorian embassy by UK citizens, which has been going on for six years now.
There were a lot of actions in support of Julian prior to his going into the Ecuadorian embassy. Ecuador showed principles, ethics and courage in protecting Julian. But now with the change in leadership, the Ecuadorian government is coming under extreme pressure and appears to be wavering.
RC: Do you have message you would like to send to President Moreno?
CA: Stand up for the sovereignty of your country. You have a fabulous constitution which is a template for world democracy. Don’t let down Ecuador. Don’t let down Julian. Don’t let down the concept of a free press.
Dennis J. Bernstein is a host of “Flashpoints” on the Pacifica radio network and the author of Special Ed: Voices from a Hidden Classroom. You can access the audio archives at www.flashpoints.net. Randy Credico is an American perennial political candidate, comedian, radio host, activist and the former Director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice
We have seen how Senator Sanders has been criticized by supporters of former President Barack Obama, because of what he said regarding the Democratic Party on the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/bernie-sanders-obama-anger-martin-luther-king-death-assassination-jackson-mississippi-a8289456.html .
The assassination of Martin Luther King, as with the assassination of President John Kennedy, was Not a Second Amendment Obligation that the American Founding Fathers mentioned to Americans that Americans Should be against American Tyrants, in order to Nourish the Tree of Liberty, and give the Tree of Liberty the Essential Nutrients that it Needs to Survive, and we saw how the September 11 of 2001 Incident was used by the Tyrant President George Bush the second, for the Unpatriotic ‘Patriot’ Act, and there are Many Expert Americans who think that it was done by America’s Shadow Regime at http://www1.ae911truth.org/home/550-jowenko .
Martin Luther King and President John Kennedy were Not Tyrants, either toward Americans or toward People of other Countries, as was the Chemical Animal and War Criminal President Nixon, who was a Tyrant toward the People of Vietnam for No legitimate reason, and President John Kennedy was assassinated because he did Not want the Illegitimate War against Vietnam that was Deliberately Engineered because of Slandering Vietnam at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_incident , and the Video is Titled: Napalm at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOrnShOifeI .
It was America’s Shadow Regime that assassinated President John Kennedy, and it was because the American Shadow Regime and their Puppets wanted an Illegal and Unnecessary War in Vietnam, so that they Could Enrich Themselves at the Expense of the American Taxpayers, Regardless of Casualties to American Military Personnel, and Regardless of Casualties to the People of Vietnam at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War_casualties .
It was because the American Shadow Regime and their Puppets, as with the Rest of the Anglo American Shadow Regime and their Puppets, who are among the Biggest Hypocrites, and they are among the Biggest Criminal Filth and Human Garbage on this Planet.
President John Kennedy would Not have used the Chemical Weapon Agent Orange on the Vietnamese People and on their Agriculture, and President John Kennedy would Not have used Napalm on People as the Tyrant and War Criminal Nixon did, and as War Criminal Israel has done, who have used the Chemical Weapon of White Phosphorous on Palestinians, and on Palestinian Children.
The Video is Titled: Impact of the White Phosphorus on the human body from alleged Israeli attack at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY0dpyKiW34 , and the word Alleged should Not have been used in that Title, because such things are Confirmed by Unbiased, Unbribed, and Unintimidated Fact Finders, while the word Alleged is Used more often by the few Honest Western Journalists, and the word Alleged Should, at times, be added by the Reader of Many Western Fake News Articles to make those ‘News’ Articles closer to reality at https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/03/25/israel-white-phosphorus-use-evidence-war-crimes .
Senator Sanders has said that President Trump has No authority to broaden the War in Syria, and that is how the Corrupt and Lying American Media, or the American Press has claimed that these are the exact words that Senator Sanders used, and where some of those American Journalists may Also have been to Jeffrey Epstein’s Island, who is Jewish, even as is Senator Sanders is Jewish, and the Facts are that America has No right under International Law to be anywhere in Syria, or to attack Syria, or to provide Military Aid to opponents of the Democratically Elected Legitimate Government of Syria in the first place, such as the Anglo Israeli Secret Ally of ISIS and Allies of ISIS at http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/382665-bernie-sanders-trump-has-no-authority-to-broaden-war-in-syria , and at https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-gives-secret-aid-to-syrian-rebels-1497813430 at https://nypost.com/2016/10/09/the-sex-slave-scandal-that-exposed-pedophile-billionaire-jeffrey-epstein/ .
There are Epsteinites in British Politics and in Britain’s Media, as there are in American Politics and in American Journalism, and this is Why they Create Wars as their Corrupt Business Model to Siphon Off Taxpayers’ Money from Illegal, Immoral, and Unnecessary Wars that they Deliberately Engineer for their Secret Reasons, and Jeffrey Epstein is a Financier who Needs Money to be a Financier at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Epstein , and Others Also Like Money, because they say that Money Talks at https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime–law/breaking-feds-explain-sweet-deal-for-billionaire-sex-offender-epstein/nN5WTmFcZRaRXzHZSYWtLP/ .
President Bill Clinton was a Regular Visitor to Epstein’s Island, and Perhaps some British Politicians and Journalists have been there.
It Could be that the British Foreign Secretary has Visited near to, or even been to Jeffrey Epstein’s Island, during his Diplomatic travels to Overseas places.
We Know from the Skripalgate Scandal that No novichok chemical could have been used, and that there is No way to verify where it came from, if it was used, unless a Spectrograph machine is used, and unless there is a Sample of where it was manufactured was available, because the Spectrograph Detects if the Impurities of a Chemical substance Matches those in the sample of where it was manufactured, and that is how Experts Know where the Chemical was made, and if there is No sample of where it was Allegedly made, and we Know that the English will Not provide a sample from their Own Chemical Facilities that Know how to Synthetize inovichok, but it’s the Alleged use novichok on the Skripals that is a Total Hoax.
Perhaps the English gave the Skripals some weak tranquilizing chemicals to send them to Hospital, and that from there, then, perhaps they were given more harmless sedatives to give the Skripals the Impression that novichok was used, and the British Government Lied regarding the Skripals, because they have No Scruples, and only pets were Alleged to have died, and it was Alleged that the pets were cremated, but those things Could be Lies, because there is Not much to investigate with Ashes, and the cremation of the pets Story process was used to say that Not even the ashes can be investigated, as too Many other Impurities would be associated with that.
I think that Chemical Weapons could have been used in Syria in the latest alleged use of chemical weapons, because ISIS are Terrorists, but I think that any Chemical Weapons would have Only been used by ISIS, and that it was Supplied to them by Anglo America, or by an Ally of Anglo America, such as Israel, France, or Saudi Arabia.
The Syrian Government has been Cleared of any wrongdoing over the years regarding these types of allegations, but Anglo America continues with their Slandering of the Innocent Syrian Government, and with their other Evildoing in Syria, because that is who they are.
There are Many British Voters who want All of Britain’s Politicians and All of Britain’s Journalists to Sign a Statement of Integrity in Government and of Public Accountability, in order for them to be Eligible for Voters to even think of Voting for, and in order for them to be Eligible to Work as Journalists or for the Voters to want to read what they write, and they want the Journalist Julian Assange to be Pardoned and Freed to a Country that will treat Innocent People as Innocent People Should be Treated, and perhaps, after he is Free, then he could visit his Friend and Fellow Worker for a Good World, Edward Snowden, who is a Refugee because of American Tyranny, even as Julian Assange is a Refugee because of Anglo American Tyranny.
That Statement of Integrity in Government and of Public Accountability is Needed, because the British Parliament and the British Media has become Corrupted, and that Patriotic Statement is the Following: “While I Deny All such accusations against myself, Yet, my Duty as a Fellow Citizen is to Admit that there Could be some British Politicians and some British Journalists who have become the Puppets of Britain’s Shadow Government, because Britain’s Shadow Regime has Used Britain’s Police and Intelligence Services to Obtain the Dirt on Them, and that certain British Politicians and certain British Journalists have been Puppetized by Britain’s Unelected Shadow Regime, and that They may have been either Secretly and Unwittingly Filmed, and then Puppetized, because they did Not want to go to Jail, or that some of Them may have been Willingly Filmed in Acts of Pedophilia, as their Sure Guarantee to their Shadow Regime Puppet Masters, that they Will Always be their Puppets for Fortune and Fame, because they can be Blackmailed, and so they Will be the Puppets of their Evil Puppet Masters, either Foreign or Local, and therefore, they have become either the Willing or the Unwilling Traitors to the British People.
We have Read Many News Articles on this matter, and one of them is at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1138497/Theresa-May-Westminster-paedophile-ring.html .
If Anyone Knows how to Cover Up, and how to Wrongly Blame Innocent People, or how to Bribe People to Lie for them, or to Threaten and Intimidate People, even Innocent People to Lie for them, and how to Improperly Slander Other People, then it is the British Shadow Regime, and their Puppets in the current British Government at https://www.thepileus.com/uk/theresa-may-and-the-missing-child-sex-abuse-files/ , and at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/06/westminster-child-abuse-accuser-nick-charged-paedophile-offences/ .
This is Primarily the Reason as to Why, there are Many British People who want a New Political Party with Untainted Honest Candidates, but the British Shadow Regime, and their Puppets are Lying over the Real Reasons.
This is because They will Not Confess to These Things, for the Obvious Reasons.
Julian Assange c/o
Embassy of Ecuador
Flat 3b, 3 Hans Crescent, London SW1X 0LS
Reputation Management requires control of THE NARRATIVE. Reality that destroys reputations sets us free, as Jesus said.
The fact that Assange has been forced to take refuge in an embassy under conditions that are regarded
as torture in some respects (no sunlight, no opportunity for hospitalization) is beyond argument. As is the responsibility for this outrage falling upon Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton when this outrage began. Hillary’s refusal to turn over the transcripts of her $250,000 a pop “speeches” was an insult to the intelligence of every American who had any. Trump’s entire candidacy was an insult to anyone with more intelligence than a jellyfish. If Assange got access to any of Trump’s tax returns and didn’t release them, I would be slightly disappointed. But, in turning loose what he got from the DNC emails, he was doing his job as he has always seen it. He may well have turned into a righteous pain in the behind, as some on our side have painted him, over the time of his forced self-detention. But, if you had a chance to embarrass a person responsible for destroying your life, and do your job simultaneously, would you not do it? Me. Assange deserves our support. His unpleasantness at times one could expect from a saint, given his circumstances.
I have head great respect for Julian for years. However, if Mueller proves Roger Stone got Julian to release those stolen emails on the DNC, etc…my question would have to be to Julian? Why. Why would you work with one of the worst political dirty tricks assholes in the US. Just to take down Hilary? Now we have the most crazed conman ever as our President, threatening the planet. If Mueller proves that, sorry, I will no longer support Julian.
The conwoman was even more facile since she had you fooled. At least the entire country has the luxury of being skeptical about Trump rather than universally duped.
You actually believe that Assange could walk out of there, bob121? The Deep State has desire to Deep Six him. They don’t want their diabolical plots revealed to the TV mesmerized masses. As for such harm caused by Wikileaks, what is that? You must be a law abider no matter the law? You sound like a member of the Praetorian Guards for the Deep State.
No visitors, no phone calls, no internet, no sun light, no fresh air, no exercise, no novel stimuli whatsoever… basically they are subjecting the man to the equivalent of sensory deprivation. The experience will soon come close to what Manning endured. As in that case, it is psychological torture meant to break the person. And, if Julian relents and surrenders himself? It will get even worse in Fort Leavenworth, or wherever they bury him alive. Frankly, they don’t care if the man suffers, vegetates or dies. They are sending YOU a message to never do or support the kind of things Mr. Assange engaged in. Let no person ever contemplate bucking the dictates of the regime in Washington, or else.
Do NOT buy this DEEP STATE crap. The only deep state is the one setup by Cheney, “Continuation of Govt”. Cheney had the worst despots in the CIA and FBI deeply placed in the bowels of our government to continue the alt right, nazi fascist platforms they believe in. Deep State is a product of Jerome Corsi, a right wing thug who is so far to the right he is off the charts.
Bill Clinton was pushing Sen. Phil Gramm’s agenda to dismantle the New Deal, implement “free trade” agreements, and extend Reagan’s deregulation of the media long before Cheney picked himself to be VP under Dumbya. There has been a deep state at least since Eisenhower, making sure that the critical elements of American fascism never change. He tried to warn us about just one of its tentacles, the MIC.
In Hollywood films journalists like Julian Assange – who exposes lies, cover ups and corruption, are portrayed as real heroes. Sadly in real life they are arrested, humiliated and painted at all times in a negative light.
Julian Assange is now in effect under house arrest in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The British government, far from fighting to free Assange is waiting to arrest him as soon as he leaves the embassy.
History will show Assange as a hero, WikiLeaks (which he founded ) exposes the truth in a Western world that is deeply bedded in lies.
Wikileaks has little to do with free speech, to be frank, nothing at all. They distribute stolen information given to them by people committing a crime. If they only released information that for example helped uncover actual crimes – then they would have the moral high ground. But they have released plenty of information that actually causes more harm than good – which is why Mr Assange is in his self imposed “prison”. Nothing prevents him from walking out of there and taking responsibility for what he’s done. If he really wanted to make himself a martyr, like he acts, he should do that.
Bob121 is full of poo.
Right up to the eyeballs Skip. Wikileaks releases documentation that exposes crime and wrongdoing…must hurt 121’s feelings to have to face up to the reality of American snipers taking out journalists and the Clinton team playing in filthy sandboxes.
jullian hang in there trumps head should burst at any time now his people neocons surround him with lies he does not realize you are the reason he is potus i knew the dirtty axe wound brits were lieing cause they present a case with no proof they even fabricated a name of this poison witch until now was not in the russian vocabulary ontil now oh thank you russia for not letting the northeast freeze to death the dont know that france purchased and delivered your lng liquid natural gas to the port of boston thank you putin i williiam solon stand by these thruths am i the only american who hasnot got his head so solidly stuck uf his head that they cannot see these deadly errors we are making wake up merica and get rid of ever war monging asshole out there lindsey gramm you want war so bad go sign up sent your kid or wife to do your battle . sin cerly the thruth is dead. william solon
This is not a matter of what cultural dominance one prefers, East or West. It is a matter of principle, and the West does not live up to its boastings of democracy. We have arrived at a point on Earth where we cannot afford escalating conflict. I do not agree with capitalism as our dominating ideology because it ignores ecology and necessity of limits. All nations have been drawn into this competition mode, and at some point there will be ecological breakdown. The main point is that truth has become casualty of power, and we are being ruled without any say in the matter. Assange being held incommunicado shows how free speech has been eliminated by the West.
Lots of behind the curtain analysis here which is totally on point. I don’t think “The West” is the demonic power it’s made out to be here though, for no reason. You do not know what aspirations other powerful nations have to assume control. Do you honestly think Russia and China are just innocent bystanders with no global leadership agenda in their sights? Despite the manipulations of the West in all the recent very obvious manufactured plays – I always remind myself I’d still rather live under British / US rule, as it still has a plethora of cultural tolerances that are not exhibited anywhere near as well by either the Russian or Chinese states. I know it sounds crazy but if they did not have aggressive long term agendas for global power of their own, the West wouldn’t be so busy building capable deterrence. If you are a citizen of the West you need to remind yourself of this. It’s not as bad as you think! You really want to live in the Russian or Chinese systems? Even though it seems evil, I really do think the West has the best mega-structure for personal freedoms (could be much better obv) and is prepared to fight and protect it. Don’t be fooled into thinking Chinese and Russian are just pacifist superpowers, what if they are actively slowly attempting to dissolve western ideals assume a far more conservative global control. Why wouldn’t they? The deep state of the West is really just trying to make sure it doesn’t happen by any means necessary. If we sit around and act like peaceniks it will be taken over within 50 – 100 years. It’s awful but competition is the way shit works. Have some faith in the West. Western ways literally took humanity out of the darkness and continue to innovate and rule in ways no other culture has yet been better at. Rather than assuming it is hankering for war, it may actually be proactively prevent its downfall. Which would be far more hellish for humanity/personal freedoms imo.
I see no evidence of other major powers to global leadership aspirations. Regional influence, and a wish to engage in global trade, but I see no proof of a “global leadership” agenda on the part of China or Russia. Who has over 800 military bases all around the globe? Oh yeah, that would be us. Who topples any government that doesn’t pony up its natural resources and/or labor on the cheap? Oh yeah, us again. Who prints money with abandon, and enforces its value by force of arms? Us again. Your “counterpoint” sounds a whole lot like baseless apologetics to me. Oh yeah, and as for humanity/personal freedoms: Who has the largest per capita prison population of any industrialized country? Yep, us again. Try pissing off the “important” people, and see what happens to you. And I guarantee you it more than “seems evil” if you’re at the wrong end of a drone strike instead of sipping a latte in Starbucks.
There’s no one here claiming that Russia and China are “pacifist superpowers.” That would be suicidal in the world we inhabit. But tell me, which superpower has been the aggressor/instigator of the vast majority of war and destruction since World War Two? I’ll give you three guesses and two hints: it’s not Russia or China!
Why does it always come down to the best of two evils? Humanity had best grow up to the point of maturity. Endless war, Assange crises, Lulu arrested, Ecuadorian President’s show of cowardice, Russia-gate syria, Facebook, etc, are all small change when compared to the big crises that will kill all life on Earth — human caused climate change. Our news sources ignore that issue while everyday we get continuous reruns of the above issues. Not that our endless wars are not important and could very likely lead to our early demise, Syria is not even being reported tonight, all life is under severe threat by climate change.
Oh be quiet. You’re either really naive or a troll. There’s no such thing as climate change. It’s weather modifcation and they’ve been doing it since the Vietnam War in the 1960s.
What country has China invaded. how bout Russia? NOPE they did not invade Crimea. Crimea was part of Russia since Catherine the Great, and the Crimeans have russian culture, russian speaking and VOTED to go back to Russia. The west has made a huge deal of this, leaving out the facts. The poorly educated havent a clue what has happened in that part of the world. They just believe whatever TV channel they watch…Faux.
elizabeth allen,
Thanks. You are so right about Crimea. The US pulled the coup in Ukraine and, once again, displaced a democratically elected president and installed a Nazi/Fascist dictatorship. They even have swastikas on their helmets.
Counterpoint, you say, “I always remind myself I’d still rather live under British / US rule, as it still has a plethora of cultural tolerances that are not exhibited anywhere near as well by either the Russian or Chinese states. I know it sounds crazy but if they did not have aggressive long term agendas for global power of their own, the West wouldn’t be so busy building capable deterrence.” I stand aghast. The West is building capable deterrence? Against whom? Russia and China are not threatening the US, nor threatening anyone else in the world, for that matter. The US has encircled China. The US has slammed NATO up against Russia (when they promised they wouldn’t move further east than mid-Germany. As Gorbachev said, “You can’t trust the Americans.”
Who is the country that has murdered or deposed in coups democratically elected leaders and invaded/attacked numerous sovereign countries since WWII? Not the Chinese nor the Russians. Where have you been? Think of Allende in Chile, Zaylaya in Honduras, Aristide in Haiti, Mosadegh in Iran, Yanukovich in Ukraine, Ghadiffi in Libya (was the most stable country in Africa, bet you didn’t know that), and more, and in all these places, installed non-elected puppets/dictators who give up all the resources to particularly America and Britain who have ruined the countries for the people who live there.
Who murdered a million+ people in Iraq and Afghanistan, and caused the destruction of Libya and Syria. Who instigated the Iran/Iraq war? Who backed the rebel/terrorist groups in Syria against Bashar al Assad (who, BTW, never has used chemical weapons on the Syrians…those are proven lies, the false flags America loves so much, you know, like WMDs.) Iran, an innocent country that has never attacked anyone, will probably be destroyed by the US next. Now there are people in our government hell bent on regime change in Russia. Oh, yes, Venezuela is on the hit list, too. And, too, the US was behind the scenes in getting rid of Rousseff and now Lula in Brazil. There is no end the the mania for hegemony by this rotten country. CIA shenanigans are everywhere.
No place better to live? Are you serious? You’ve never visited the Nordic countries? You’ve never been to Cuba? In Cuba there is NO racism or status seeking whatsoever. It’s the calmest country I’ve ever visited, completely peaceful. I’be been in over thirty countries and believe me, there are better places to live than here.
Here’s a suggestion: Go on line and find Putin’s two hour address to his country and listen to all of it. It was amazing and wonderful. Yet our media jumped on the tail end where Putins essentially said, “We will not attack your country, but if you attack us, we will respond.” I’ve been in Iran; they are wonderful people and decided in 2003 to never make a nuclear weapon. I’ve been in Palestine; they are not terrorists and are warm, welcoming people, unlike the Israelis, I suggest you travel to many countries; then see who’s who. We also do the bidding of AIPAC because Israel is as awful as the US. WE are the aggressors, not Putin, not Xi Jinping.
Well said and thank you very much. It’s nice to see common sensical people once in awhile.
Almost all of the comments so far are on the money. I won’t add to them.
Here is a stop-gap measure:
Everyone should send Julian a mailed note of encouragement. The presence of people outside the embassy should be greatly increased and there should be a “webcam” broadcasting it. I hope British activists can accomplish this soon.
Not a bad idea at all, though an exact address would be needed, for the Brits would trash those with a single error.
A possible downside might involve “white powder” of assorted types being included in the letters. So any posted address probably ought to specify postcards for the messages.
Mike k and the Realist and others. When I come to Consortium News and read your comment threads I agree with most that I read. Thank you for being intelligent aware beings. Though you do not know me I feel a kinship to you. Peace on our floating tiny speck of dust would be so much better than the assinine drama we get to witness coming from these psyopathic neocons who are taking us so clearly towards species suicide. Thank you for being yourselves.
The reality is, outside of a few people, no one really cares..and that is the sad but accurate truth. If people really did care about Mr Assange and wanted to preserve and support the truth that he tells, they would have come out by the tens of thousands and protested daily and nightly, round the clock, in front of number 10 downing, parliament and the US embassy. The message from a massive nonstop protest basically shutting down operations at these institutions would have sent a clear message to the governments. But in the real world people are just too busy with work, the kids, tonight’s episode of Big Brother, and the ball game….everything else but what is really important….governments see this lack of suppprt for Assange and know they can do what ever they want as no one will stand up for his cause….and that is because his cause means nothing to the average idiot who is just happy to have a job and a beer….Yes..as sad as this is….it is fact….and just proves that the ignorant masses can never and will never comprehend the depth of their own ignorance.
People would rather march and protest for the rights of ILLEGALS to be allowed in to make their cities poorer, more crowded and more divided. That’s how dumb people are. There really is some nefarious force pushing all this. It’s not just about money for them. They want nothing less than destruction at the hands of the masses’ own stupidity that they themselves created.
I am native american, if your not native YOUR an immigrant. The oldest horror in history..demonizing one group or another, while the billionaire, neo con fascists rob you without a gun. I have immigrant friends and yes some illegals too. Most ran from oppressive regimes, ran for their lives. I support sancutary cities…Europe has immigrants from mid east, we have them from South and Central america…before the US was formed, those folks walked over and visited friends and family…there was no problem…they are human beings with the same wants and needs as you. If you believe in the Creator…God didnt make no junk.
God bless you Elizabeth Allen. You speak so much truth.
You’d think the Brits would realize they would be in the crosshairs if the proxy wars continue to escalate and become nuclear. I thought they were smarter than Americans. As you said, they should be in front of the embassy 24-7 demanding Assange’s release. He seems to be our last best hope.
Well, I see that Wall Street is bullish on world war. All the markets were up considerably today, including an increment of +428 on the Dow-Jones Average. The jackals think they smell the money to be made, apparently no worries about the lives to be lost or the tax revenues squandered. This is truly sleep-walking into the abyss. As if life will go on as usual on Wilshire Blvd, State Street, Canal Street, Market Street or wherever you strut your stuff. All that will end, ya morons. Sleeping under a roof and eating regular meals will come to an end. Having your radiation poisoning treated by a doctor: not an option under the new world order. Is Tucker Carlson the only person awake with a functional brain on the corporate media?
To illustrate how topsey turvey everything has become, those of us still interested in protecting the constitution, the 4th amendment and the powers of the presidency from being usurped by bald-faced, war-mongering insurrectionists must put our trust for the survival of our species with a rash, ill-educated man-child who threatens the very actions that will surely lead to the nuclear annihilation of all. The country voted for Trump as the lesser of evils. In spite of his massive deficiencies, I still don’t see a compelling rational actor on the bench of either party, should he be deposed. This has been the perfect storm of ginned-up mass hysteria reaching into every crevice of the establishment of this country. The crazy train is about ready to launch, joining Thelma and Louise in their sudden and dramatic entropy gain, and NO ONE in that establishment, except for Tucker Carlson’s lone voice, seems vaguely interested. The lunatics barking the suicidal orders say it’s all in the name of freedom and democracy, and the sheep can only bleat “amen!”
The Brits are just as bamboozled and hoodwinked as the american people. Rupert Murdock is over there too. The west are former colonial powers…they drew lines in the sand and made countries up from whole cloth. There are so few truthful news outlets and they are mostly volunteers. We dont know the truth, because we are not provided the truth…done on purpose, so every crime, every scheme they come up with….majority dont know its pack of lies.
Britain is why America was formed and was at the heart of the Atlantic slave trade which basically built America. They’re not in the crosshairs. They’re right there at the center- the left hand of America.
Understand, before Trumpolini, Julian was highly supported by liberals and progressives. After the reports of him colluding with Roger Stone and the Russians, some backed off at least publically.
The Brits, the Americans and the Ecuadorians are psychologically and physically destroying a man not because he is a mass murderer, a rapist, a crooked banker, a scamming businessman or a corrupt politician, he is none of these, but because he revealed to the public the crimes and brutalities powerful nations inflict upon the people of the world and the contempt the leaders of these nations have for the people they are ostensibly serving.
What is particularly disgusting is how Snowden, Manning and Greenwald, aka the celebrity whistle blower club, aid and abet his persecutors by gossiping about his personality and loudly denouncing him as unethical because he didn’t, and doesn’t, pander to the establishment and because Wikileaks releases directly to the public rather than having a millionaire journalist “curate” the documents into irrelevance and make a tidy buck doing so.
Assange’s treatment at the hands of the “international community” and champions of freedom and democracy is how we will be treated when society breaks down in earnest and people mobilize against the status quo. The shameful behavior exhibited by people who should be his allies and backing him up every step of the way tells us how easily people are corrupted and manipulated to serve the power they claim to be fighting against.
Someone in London should organize a team of trustworthy, competent people and break Assange out of the embassy. (Would Iceland grant him asylum or have they been neoliberalized and brought into the Empire’s fold? Where would he be safe now that Ecuador has sold out?)
Perhaps for those who still have a flicker of conscience burning within, Assange’s illegal captivity can fan that flame into a blaze. His martyrdom should inspire us to go and do likewise, in our own ways……
I’m afraid you’re right, Known Unknown.
Even though I have a more nuanced view of Greenwald et al., there’s no denying it’s a depressing spectacle as allies and associates abandon and snipe at Assange, giving into petty vanity disguised as principle.
There’s always been injustice, of course, but looking back I think it’s the Alger Hiss case that inaugurated our current political era of the worst thriving as the best suffer disgrace, poverty, and imprisonment.
P.S. I wouldn’t look for help from Iceland, or any other NATO country.
Perhaps it is wise and diplomatic for people with greater involvement in the case not to say so, but I’m obscure enough to point out that new Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno is looking like a pretty worrisome character, and not just as regards Assange.
Every “leftist” leader and former leader in Latin America is inevitably hunted down by American interests until he or she is in jail or dead. Lula from Brasil has recently been incarcerated. Kirchner from Argentina is being prosecuted for purportedly aiding Iran in a bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Washington doesn’t simply want these people out of office, they want them to serve as a warning to anyone else who might try to buck American policy in the future. It’s a de facto world war against anyone who would beg to differ with Washington, even if the stakes are inconsequential.
Do you realise that by 2030, it’s been projected that the top 1% in the world will own 2/3rds of the planet’s wealth? The mind boggled when it was “only” 50%. They won’t stop till they have it all, including ownership of our bodies and minds.
“Moderation” in all things again, I see. You might think I’m part of the deep state or the great vampire squid of Wall Street based on all the red flags I’m given. Geez, and I don’t even use url’s any more.
Spot on Realist…there is a counterinsurgency in progress against anyone who dares promote alternatives to the current global capitalist order.
The Capitalistas have their ways of getting through to their targets. Ask John Perkins of Economic Hitman fame.
Yeah, but I think in Moreno it might be more a case of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The U.S. may have ways we aren’t seeing to get him to play along, but no one made him run for president: he’s responsible for his own actions.
Our sardine fishermen work at night in the dark
of the moon; daylight or moonlight
They could not tell where to spread the net,
unable to see the phosphorescence of the
shoals of fish.
They work northward from Monterey, coasting
Santa Cruz; off New Year’s Point or off
Pigeon Point
The look-out man will see some lakes of milk-color
light on the sea’s night-purple; he points,
and the helmsman
Turns the dark prow, the motorboat circles the
gleaming shoal and drifts out her seine-net.
They close the circle
And purse the bottom of the net, then with great
labor haul it in.
I cannot tell you
How beautiful the scene is, and a little terrible,
then, when the crowded fish
Know they are caught, and wildly beat from one wall
to the other of their closing destiny the
phosphorescent
Water to a pool of flame, each beautiful slender body
sheeted with flame, like a live rocket
A comet’s tail wake of clear yellow flame; while outside
the narrowing
Floats and cordage of the net great sea-lions come up
to watch, sighing in the dark; the vast walls
of night
Stand erect to the stars.
Lately I was looking from a night mountain-top
On a wide city, the colored splendor, galaxies of light:
how could I help but recall the seine-net
Gathering the luminous fish? I cannot tell you how
beautiful the city appeared, and a little terrible.
I thought, We have geared the machines and locked all together
into inter-dependence; we have built the great cities; now
There is no escape. We have gathered vast populations incapable
of free survival, insulated
From the strong earth, each person in himself helpless, on all
dependent. The circle is closed, and the net
Is being hauled in. They hardly feel the cords drawing, yet
they shine already. The inevitable mass-disasters
Will not come in our time nor in our children’s, but we
and our children
Must watch the net draw narrower, government take all
powers–or revolution, and the new government
Take more than all, add to kept bodies kept souls–or anarchy,
the mass-disasters.
These things are Progress;
Do you marvel our verse is troubled or frowning, while it keeps
its reason? Or it lets go, lets the mood flow
In the manner of the recent young men into mere hysteria,
splintered gleams, crackled laughter. But they are
quite wrong.
There is no reason for amazement: surely one always knew
that cultures decay, and life’s end is death.
Robinson Jeffers
Not familiar with this author, but the flavor of the piece reminded me of Steinbeck’s “The Sea of Cortez” about a biological expedition he took into the Gulf of California with Ed Ricketts.
I’ve come to think that American politicians and capitalists must have a double mutation at one of the critical genes that allow us humans to see beauty in nature and appreciate that 4.5 billion years of evolution is a much more profound occurrence than amassing a billion-dollar fortune playing by some cruel and arbitrary rules.
Keep fighting to the end, Mike.
Thanks Realist, I will. No man knows the hour……. It’s one of those times today, when the world is holding it’s breath……..
Beautiful piece, mike k. Thanks for sharing.
There is something really eerie about being in a possible final moment before a storm may be unleashed that washes our human world away, and everyone is going about their business as usual without a clue. I go to CNN to see what they are doing to wake people up to the crisis facing the world, and find that they are cheerleading for giving the Russkies a really solid whack, and worried Trump might just launch a few token missiles. Unreal world, cities of dreams…………
Listen and listen good:
We’re possibly on the brink of major war if the moronic Trump actually listens to Bolton and Pompeo in attacking Damascus over the absurd notion that Assad used chem weapons in Douma. The Kremlin has come out repeatedly stating that any military action by the West will likely be met with severe consequences.
We’re at a moment right now that’s every bit as dangerous as the Cuban Missile Crisis, probably more dangerous b/c our Zio-Washington-militarist controlled mainstream media are not alarmed at all, or, they’re putting about as much emphasis on the Kremlin’s warnings as they do on Stormy Danny’s porn career.
Now is the time to spread the word far and wide to anyone you know: Do not allow Bolton/Pompeo/Pence to goad Trump into attacking Syria, period.
Last night Israel tested the waters to see what Moscow might do in response to a bombing run, the Kremlin tactfully and responsibly refrained from doing anything. How long will the Kremlin continue to be a stoic punching bag in the face of Western lies, deceit, misinformation and violence?
Yes, the Russians immediately surmised that Israel was trying to mimic an attack by American missiles fired from American ships in order to goad a response by Russia against American forces which would lead to all out war between the major powers. Ever cautious, what clued the Russians was the size of the offensive. They believe that Washington’s attack will be massive, on the order of hundreds of missiles, rather than only a dozen or so. That will be when Armageddon begins.
Why does Israel assume it can survive such a conflict? Surely they will receive an invitation to the big dance and be vaporised along with everyone else. It will be launch everything you’ve got on warning, because anything left back will be lost in the first strike. As soon as the western sky is filled with boggies on Russian radar screens, their whole arsenal is headed our way. What’s most confounding, is that this final showdown in human history has been carefully and deliberately planned every step of the way. None of it is by accident. Every provocation irreversibly escalated to the next level, when cooler heads could have prevailed at any time. I just don’t get the EU eagerly joining the Jonestown party that Washington is throwing.
Violent death abroad and deprivation at home are Empire’s purest products. Because this reality is never talked about openly, the fallout (heh) from suppressing basic human empathy and compassion manifests itself as a civilization-wide fascination with death and killing that is turning the west into an apocalypse cult that craves its own destruction.
Let’s say Israel has six nuclear weapon-carrying submarines. Each one carries a bunch of cruise missiles with a range of 1,000 miles. Suppose one is stationed in the Indian Ocean – Iran/Saudi Arabia. A couple in the ocean north of the UK would cover Europe and western Russia. One in the Black Sea – southern Russia. And let’s send a pair to the eastern Atlantic for protection against the bad people in Europe who might try to destroy Holy Israel’s Deterrent. That or something like it would be the Official Story, anyhow. From Boston to New Orleans are a LOT of targets. Big Wag-the-Dog, Behave, Or Else.
Naturally there are also one-way flights of over-fueled long-range F-15s. And their land-based missiles. And any “suitcase” bombs they’ve happened to carry into Rome and other places beforehand.
The word would be put out – fight the war we want without us.
Of course there is one more possibility – a variation of what Isaac Asimov wrote about in his short story The Gentle Vultures.
h**ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gentle_Vultures
I’d invite readers to reconsider the situation if “Not-So-Gentle Vultures” are involved.
Interesting headline at Zero Hedge:
“U.S. Navy Destroyer Armed With Tomahawks Arrives Off Syrian Coast, “Harassed” By Russian Warplanes”
Relevant text:
Tin Foil Hat Scenario: Trump launches his massive cruise missile attack from a submerged submarine a few miles west of this destroyer. Russian radars detect incoming missiles from direction of same destroyer. They destroy some of the missiles, but inevitably some will get through. With nothing else in sight, they attack and probably sink USS Donald Cook. “Pearl Harbor Attack Against Innocent Ship” would be the theme of the screaming headlines. “Dead American Sailors Killed In Their Bunks!”
Then we’re off to the races. Come to think of it, if the Russians failed to take the bait, there is always Israel. Everybody would KNOW it was Russia, the bunch who shot down the airliner over Ukraine, who put Trump in the White House, who use poisons everywhere and assist Assad with killing his own people.
Half a dozen missiles coming in from the east would just HAVE to belong to the Russians!
It is hard to not feel completely hopeless in light of recent events. The Skripal poisoning psy-op, the latest Syrian false flag operation, and the complete muzzling of Julian, have all combined to leave me feeling we are on the verge of another major war. The nightly news has taken on an even more Orwellian character than it already had. To think that the majority of US citizens, and those of our vassals, fall for such obvious lies is disheartening. People are so busy just trying to pay the bills, and so distracted by our entertainment industry, that they are no longer functioning citizens. I suppose the operative term is “full spectrum dominance”, and the bast**ds are winning. The latte sippers will not awaken until the mushroom clouds appear on the horizon. God help us all.
I share that hopeless feeling. It reminds me of two instances in this century. The night before Katrina breached the flood walls of New Orleans I managed to locate what I think they call a “web cam” focused on an city street. Everything looked normal – except maybe for the violently swinging traffic lights. I knew the next morning the area would be underwater, and there was nothing I could do about it.
The other time was just before Bush the Dumbass made his illegal invasion of Iraq. A vivid incident resulted from my thoughts as I was driving along a local state highway. I was still in shock from the disintegration of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the death of all the crew. Now I was looking at the immediate start of the stupidest war of aggression I’d ever personally known. Suddenly there was a siren and flashing blue lights behind me, and I pulled off. I’d been clearly doing too much grieving and not enough driving. Trooper took a look at my license, and asked about my speeding. I admitted that I’d been distracted and briefly told him why. He looked at me for a second or two, handed back my license, and told me to drive more carefully in the future.
As I said, I’m feeling those kinds of “helpless” now. Call my Senators? Call my Representative? Based on my previous interactions with them, all three are likely cheering Trump on. Another War For Israel will suit all of them just fine.
When I read that Mueller’s agents raided the offices of President Trump’s personal lawyers today (4th amendment anyone, even for the chief executive?) it becomes clear that not only does the deep state want a hot war with Russia, they want Trump out of office and a more predictable compliant stooge in his place. Mueller’s trumped up task was to investigate alleged Russian influence on the general election, NOT to unearth his sexual pecadillos with Stormy Daniels. I thought the country learned that lesson during the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky fiasco. No sewer is too filthy for Mueller to crawl into if he can pull off his assigned role in the coup d’etat. For chrissake we knew both Clinton and Trump were horndogs from all that came out during the campaigns and the people still put them in office. What arrogance that the intelligence community thinks it has the prerogative to overturn that choice no matter the cost or vile tactics.
No, I still don’t like Trump’s policies, but I don’t like the actions of his political enemies one bit either. They seem the even greater evil.
I agree. Trump is a buffoon who is obviously out of the loop in Washington. He is a loose cannon though and they would like to take him out. I would really love to see him expose all the evil machines working behind the scenes before that happens. After seeing his reaction to the raid on his lawyer, it wouldn’t surprise me if that were to happen.
If I understand correctly, it WASN’T Mueller’s agents who raided the trump lawyer’s offices. The raid was done by FBI agents (of which Mueller is not part of). They were acting “partially” on a tip from Mueller and partly on other information from other sources. Also, this raid was done on behest of federal prosecutors in Manhattan, NY, so… if there is any attempt to use “pardons” to bypass justice, fortunately these won’t be applicable in a state crime case. I would say that trump’s criminal behavior (like sexual assault, which people saw him admit to on video tape) is fairly evident. Just because a law enforcement agency takes action doesn’t meant they are doing the work of his “political enemies.” Sometimes they’re just following the law.
Will you give me a freakin’ break with all the “moderations?” I thought this blog wanted readers and forum participants. Why the persecution? Please, you’ve got my email address. Explain this excessive moderation to me. It is garbage.
I saw in your previous post a no-no word – s e x u a l.
Three others which guarantee moderation are
h o m o s e x u a l
s e x _ s l a v e s
n e g r o
There is at least one more I’ve identified, but I forgot to put it on the list.
:(
I will no longer post comments on this site for the same reason, so they lost a participant, not to mention contributions and they don’t have the decency to explain why. This never happened under Mr. Parry’s watch and the site is being driven into the ground.
The perspective you bring to the table is valued and appreciated Annie.
I don’t understand why your comments are being moderated. They always add to the discussion and are not at all offensive or belligerent.
Skip, With this 24/7 propagandizing for many years now, the Citizens of The West have been completely brainwashed. Since this Anglo American media and entertainment industry dominates in just about most of the countries in the third World, the middle class population there has been brainwashed as well. However, there are problems of bread and butter, and survival in those third world countries for the majority of the population, this brainwashing does not work for that segment of the population as effectively. As “The West” is determined to subjugate the rest of the world by force, look for constant conflict on the planet. All the voices of dissent – as that of Julia Assange – will be silenced in “The West” very soon.
We all know who controls and runs the Anglo American Media and Entertainment Empire on the planet !
As a not so prideful American, I sadly have to agree with you Mr. Scott, most US citizens have their heads to far up their a**holes to see the horrendous back story behind all of America’s so called “success”. Here in the US, ignorance is bliss is sadly becoming the norm. The fact that our main two presidential candidates were the crooked she-devil Hillary Clinton and the Ignorant Racist Donald Trump, shows the pathetic state of mind my country is blinding going along with.
I am a pretty reality partial observer of life, but if Evil Demons in human form had taken control of our lives on Earth, I don’t think they would look and act any different than those presently pushing us into our final extinction.
It is not possible to excuse this behavior by Ecuador, especially the cut-off of visitors. The longer the blockade continues, the larger the share Ecuador will deservedly get as one of the Bad Guys in this affair.
A quick search told me that Ecuador has a population of 16 million people. That’s about midway between New York and Pennsylvania. But the GDP of Ecuador approximates that of Kentucky. Given how the US has been behaving in Venezuela and the mideast and elsewhere, Ecuador has reason to tread carefully. But the way it appears to climbed into bed with the US and the UK just can’t be excused.
US torturers have learned solitary confinement is a way of doing great damage to the victim, both mentally and physically. Destroying Assange in an Ecuadorian “jail cell” works out just as well for the US Deep State, and costs less too.
The US avoided getting Hillary, and that’s good, for we’d probably already be in a major shooting war. I’d hate it if we gained only a year of relative peace by getting Trump instead. My reading of the news tells me Russia has drawn a line in the sand in Syria, and those news stories say Trump & Company is seriously considering stepping over that line. Whether or not it all leads to some (or many) nuclear weapons going off, the conflict will be a major disaster for all concerned. Especially for an awful lot of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines.
Do dual-citizens like Bolton give a damn? Obviously not. Does the Orange POTUS have a clue about what all this means? I’m beginning to doubt it.
The persecution of Julian Assange tells you all you need to know about the relation of the United States government to truth and freedom. Americans are living in a brutal fascist dictatorship, and most of them don’t have a clue that this is the case. Our only hope is that enough people wake up to this horrifying truth, before it is really too late, and the madmen who are the real rulers of the US, and would be rulers of the world, thrust us all into a final nuclear war.
Well said.
Unfortunately, Mission Impossible was just a TV program.
I doubt there is anything that Washington might be offered in a deal that they covet any more than Assange’s person.
Unless there is a “real” Trump dossier?